TY - JOUR T1 - Lifting the smokescreen JF - European Respiratory Journal JO - Eur Respir J SP - 871 LP - 873 DO - 10.1183/09031936.06.00037706 VL - 27 IS - 5 AU - J. Britton AU - F. Godfrey Y1 - 2006/05/01 UR - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/27/5/871.abstract N2 - Evidence on the health effects of exposure to second-hand tobacco smoke was first published in 1974 1. Since then, over 20 independent reports published by a range of organisations, ranging from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) 2, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 3 and the German Maximale Arbeitsplatz Konzentration (MAK) Commission 4, have confirmed that exposure to second-hand smoke causes a range of chronic and fatal conditions, including ischaemic heart disease, stroke, lung cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Whilst the magnitude of risk is small, the exposure of nonsmokers to second-hand smoke in Europe is widespread and, therefore, the potential harm is considerable. In recent years, this growing level of irrefutable evidence has prompted health organisations to call for ever greater restrictions on smoking in work and public places. Legislation restricting smoking was introduced in several European countries in the early 1980s and 1990s, but European governments have been slow to recognise the full extent of the health problems caused by second-hand smoke. It was not until the state of California (USA), and then New York, moved towards the introduction of comprehensive legislation banning smoking in all workplaces, including bars and restaurants in 1998 and 2003, respectively, that Europe took real notice. The first European country to do so was Ireland. The impetus for the law came from the committed political leadership shown by the then Health Minister, Micheal Martin, who commissioned a report into the health effects of passive smoking in Ireland. The Allwright report 5 once again highlighted the dangers to health from passive smoking, and found that workers in the Irish hospitality sector were most at risk from exposure to second-hand smoke. The authors of the report called upon Mr Martin to take steps to protect all workers … ER -